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Questions for the Coast Guard

As I was responding to an email to Captain Christine Cutter, United States Coast Guard District 1 Legal on why evidence that I thought was vital to the investigation and why what I told CGIS during the investigation does not add up to what CGIS documented I thought that many others may have similar questions on their investigation or CG handling of rape cases.

The United States Coast Guard is the smallest branch of the military but has the highest percentage of service members seeking services through the Military Rape Crisis Center and its affiliates. Earlier this month the Military Rape Crisis Center held it first male-only peer support group for rape survivors at the Coast Guard Academy. The response was overwhelming from cadets needing to talk about their trauma in a confidential and safe environment. The Military Rape Crisis Center also holds a women-only peer support group for cadets in New London that meets monthly.

Active Duty members also need our help. The Military Rape Crisis Center Maine Coordinator, Jennifer, tried endlessly to find support for our Maine Coast Guard survivors. As it stands now the Coast Guard does not offer any support for it Maine’ shipmates. My shipmates in Maine who been assaulted first need to contact Boston, hope that the SARC return phone calls in a timely manner-Jennifer had an average of 3-4 days for phone calls to be returned-only to be referred to a non-Coast Guard base in Maine that is rumored to be shutting down. Not acceptable for a woman or man that just experienced the worst trauma of their life and evidence needs to be collected in a timely manner.

If you are like me and feel that members of the United States Coast Guard deserve much better than what the Coast Guard is currently offering to them please use the comment section of this blog to ask questions to Shawn Wren,the Coast Guard’s sexual assault prevention and response program manager, and the Coast Guard numerous SARCs and JAGs. The Coast Guard is reading this blog almost continuously. Let hope that they have the integrity to answer questions from survivors.

14 comments

1. Why is Captain Christine Cutter still working on sexual assault and rape cases? After the incident with Master Chief Jerald Motyka in which she told a rape survivor that it is “okay” for a Master Chief in the Coast Guard to use Coast Guard computers, his full name and rank to slander a rape survivor on a public forum. Captain Christine Cutter said numerous lies to make the victim look like she does not have the right to complain and lied saying that it was done at his free time even though the website company traced the posting back to a Coast Guard computer. Christine Cutter is a very weak woman who is being used as bait for the patriarchy agenda. When you hear people say that at times women are worst than men they are talking about women like Christine Cutter. If the Coast Guard is serious about not further embarrassing themselves they need to prevent her from doing further harm with sexual assault survivors.

If the Coast Guard is serious about helping rape survivors they won’t put any rape survivors in contact with her. It is disgraceful. Captain Christine Cutter should offer an apology to the rape survivor that this happened to but I doubt she is going to. Women like that are so blinded by the patriarchy and fitting into the ‘good ‘old boy club’ that they see nothing wrong with what they are doing. http://mydutytospeak.com/2011/01/18/master-chief-jerald-motyka-united-states-coast-guard/

2. How does the Coast Guard plan to help the 92% of all rape survivors that reported a rape only to find themselves involuntarily and unlawfully kicked out of the Coast Guard? Give these men and women their jobs back!

3. How does the Coast Guard plan to further help rape survivors in Maine and elsewhere without making them call a sole SARC hundreds of miles away? The Coast Guard needs a SARC at every military installation or at least every state. None of the bullshit crap of sending people to other branches of service SARCs. That is NOT putting the survivor first. It is an embarrassment that the Coast Guard and the military as a whole think that was ever a good option.

4. Why does the Coast Guard think nothing wrong of calling survivors of rape ‘victims’? They can not help survivors if they continue to call them by the wrong titles. Read all the stories on here of those that survived rape and dare tell me that they are victims of anything.

5. When is the Coast Guard going to honor Panayiota and her staff for picking up where the Coast Guard has failed miserably? Imagined how many suicides within the Coast Guard alone did Panayiota prevent by just being there for her shipmates. Start treating her like the heroic shipmate that she is and not like she is doing something wrong. The day the Coast Guard would privet to the right direction is when Panayiota, Stacey, Melissa, Jennifer, Ashley and the rest of the crew is honored by the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard for their hard work and dedication in saving the lives of Coast Guardswomen and men.

My question is why does the Coast Guard continue to put their female coasties in great danger by forcing them to work side by side with men that been accused or convicted of sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape? The Coast Guard has an extremely low prosecution rate for rapists (less than 2% actually see jail time!) and the majority of all rapists are forced back into the rank to recommit these very, very, very violent crime.

The Coast Guard allows rapists that has since left the service, even those with an OTH discharge, to freely enter or leave a Coast Guard installation as long as they have proper identification and a sponsor. The Coast Guard does not grant women that came forward with rape the same liberty.

Why does the Coast Guard have harsher punishment against the men and women that report rape than the men that rape?

For instance:
Rapists that leave the service even with a Dishonorable Discharge are allowed access to the base following the same regulations as the general public. Rape survivors do not have access to the base.

Rapists often continue on with their careers without a scratch in their record. Rape survivors have a 92% chance of losing their job when reporting the crime done to them.

Because of the harsh retaliation against women and men that come forward with rape it should be of no surprise that the majority of all rapes are never reported. Instead survivors are being punished once again by being forced to work side by side with the men that have done the 2nd most violent crime known to man kind. Some may have stumbled upon Panayiota and the rest and get help and support but I am most concern by those that don’t know about MRCC and the other services and are suffering through this trauma of having to see, and often report to, their rapist alone.

Is the Coast Guard going to help all those that lost their careers because of the rape to re enlist if they choose? This should be regardless of age limitation or counseling needed to process the rape. I tried to re-enlist after I found out that the Coast Guard diagnosis that had me kicked out in the first place was false. The recruiter told me that I could not re enlist because I am too old and had counseling for rape.

My question is probably the same like the rest of America. I am wondering when is the Coast Guard going to start honoring and respecting Panayiota and her staff for their hard work in helping the Coast Guard? They may not like it but the truth of a matter is that there are hundreds of people in the Coast Guard that are crediting Panayiota for saving their lives by believing them and in them. Admiral Papp needs to accept the work that Panayiota is doing to better the Coast Guard. Denying her work because he wants to deny the fact that his crew failed in helping rape survivors is only making him look bad.

I am also wondering if the Coast Guard is going to allow rape victims to be able to sign back on if they so choose to? Blue has a good point that age and counseling should not be a factor if you lost your job because of rape. An exemption should be made for those who been kicked out of the service because they were raped.

Age, counseling and type of discharge should not be a factor when one who been kicked out for reporting rape wants to join. I am way above the age of re-enlistment, I have had years of counseling for rape and a RE-4 on my DD214. Those are three strikes against me. The fact that I served for 12 years and received an adjustment disorder discharge from the Coast Guard doesn’t seem to raise a red flag to anybody in the Coast Guard. I had two failed attempts to remove the Re-4 and adjustment disorder on my discharge papers. My rapist retired as a CWO.

A. Why was information that this woman thought to be “vital to the investigation” and why what she told CGIS during the investigation “does not add up to what CGIS documented”? Sure sounds like a cover up to me.

B. Why does the Coast Guard have the highest percentage of rape survivors seeking services through the Military Rape Crisis Center?

C. Why doesn’t the Coast Guard have any support in Maine?

D. Why does it take 3-4 days for a SARC to return a phone call?

E. Why doesn’t the Coast Guard Academy have any support for its cadets that the Military Rape Crisis Center need to come through to save the day?

F. Is the Military Rape Crisis Center getting reimburse from the Coast Guard for using their own money and resources to help those in the Coast Guard?

I guess my last question is where is the Coast Guard? Wouldn’t you expect them to be on here answering questions? If I was running the Coast Guard and “an award winning blog” that been featured on CNN, The Guardian, NBC and more is asking my organization questions on a very serious topic I’ll be sure to assign a staff member just to answer these questions. Rape is a felony and should be treated as such.

I have been accessing your website at work with the CG but today I was not able to. You should look into seeing why the CG blocked your website from being viewed on CG computers. I am based out of Boston. I think that they are trying to hide something. I am only a civilian employee and have nothing to lose. I’ll forward Penyota more information as it comes available.

The same names are popping up over and over again. Why are they still serving? I am talking about Tutalo, Heath, Marsili and a few others. If they did it once they would most likely do it again. If they did it 5 times they are certainly going to do it again.

Why does the Coast Guard want to make the reporting option forcing rape survivors to go to mid and high ranking officers? That sounds to me a plan that would defer many to want to report the rape. If I was raped the last person that I want to talk to is a Captain. They tend to be the most corrupt and want to cover up “for the reputation of the service.” Imagine having to report a rape to all the Commanders and Captains posted on here (Keene, Cutter, Segalla) you know they would sweep that right up.

What the Coast Guard needs to do is have an independent investigation (outside of the Coast Guard) to investigate all rapes. Power need to be taken away from the CoC and into the hands of someone that is trained for sexual assault and rape cases. That is exactly how England, Germany, Canada and other NATO countries are handling their rape cases and they don’t have 90% of the problems that the US Coast Guard is facing.

I was raped while serving my country in the United States Coast Guard. I was the one that eventually lost her job and my rapist was given a pat on the back and a medal.